‘We don’t all look the same’: UK education secretary ‘thought he’d met football ace Rashford’… when it was rugby star Itoje

UK Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has backtracked after saying he enjoyed a Zoom conversation with the "charming" Marcus Rashford - only to be later informed he was actually speaking with 6ft 6in rugby star Maro Itoje.

Williamson, who is a member of Boris Johnson's under-fire cabinet, confused the two England internationals who come from very different sports while being grilled on the government's free school meals scheme, a cause which is very close to Manchester United ace Rashford's heart.

When asked if he had spoken to Rashford about the plans, Williamson indicated that they had a brief conversation on Zoom but soon backtracked when he was told by aides that he had confused Rashford with another famous English sportsman in Itoje.

"We met over Zoom and he seemed incredibly engaged, compassionate and charming but then he had to shoot off," said Williamson to the Evening Standard.

"I didn't want to be the one that was holding him back from his training."

Rashford appeared to laugh off the gaffe on social media, writing that his "accent could have been a giveaway" followed by a laughing emoji. 

The Red Devils forward was born and bred in Manchester in the north of England, while Itoje, the giant dreadlocked Saracens bruiser, hails from London – something which is evident in their accents when both men speak.

There is also the not insignificant matter of Itoje being around seven inches taller and outweighing Rashford by around 100lbs.

And detecting some blood in the water, a host of Williamson's political foes have castigated him for his error.

"This is appalling. Gavin Williamson what was it about Maro Itoje that made you mistake him for Marcus Rashford?" said Labour's shadow justice secretary David Lammy. 

"You must be the most ignorant, clueless and incapable Education Secretary in the UK's history."

Lib Dem MP Daisy Cooper also joined in on the pile-on, saying: "Now he has confused two black sporting heroes and failed to recognize Marcus Rashford, who has led the charge on fighting child poverty.  

"If rumors of an imminent reshuffle are true, this must surely be the final nail in the coffin for Gavin Williamson holding ministerial office ever again."

Itoje also couldn't resist chiming in online, writing on Twitter: "Due to recent speculation I thought it was necessary to confirm that I am not Marcus Rashford… And whilst we are here my name is not Mario either!! Just a simple Maro Itoje will do… Much love, Marcu… I mean Maro Itoje."

Boris Johnson, though, wasn't quite so hard on his colleague, with the PM describing the work that Williamson has done as "heroic" and that he conducted it "in very difficult circumstances."

Rashford has been hailed for his work in highlighting child poverty in the United Kingdom and has been hailed for prompting a government U-turn on school lunches for children, while also championing child literacy. 

Responding to the case of mistaken identity online, UK journalist Piers Morgan responded with his own string of laughing emojis, while another Twitter user highlighted the error by listing off the physical differences between Rashford and Itoje.

"Why is that when they mix up black people it's always two black people who couldn't look any more different from each other even if they were trying?" added another commenter on Twitter.

"The only similarity here is that you are two black sportsmen."